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Chinese Bloggers Praise Fonterra for Apologizing

8/6/2013 7:22AM

After China halted imports of some products from Fonterra because of safety issues, the company’s CEO flew to China, where he made a public apology. The WSJ's Abheek Bhattacharya and Josh Chin discuss what Chinese bloggers are saying about the milk scandal.

This transcript has been automatically generated and may not be 100% accurate.

... the ... ordering Chinese are increasingly turning to foreign dairy producers because of local food safety problems ... but what happens if these foreign could use as themselves showed some issues ... on the beach but a trial with the Wall Street Journal and Hong Kong and joining me today is Josh Chin from Beijing ... Josh the bottom of this scandal left went out which is New Zealand's largest dairy exporter ... of and how are people in China are responding to this ... right well I mean it's the Philly is a you know it's in China the issue of milk powder is the isthe is a big one that has been ever since two thousand ate when it was a huge scandal ... but the domestic ... milk powder producers here that that sickened three hundred thousand people ... I and and killed six babies so it's a bit and it's this provoked issued response ... I mean basically what happened is the ... O was a phone's of Fonterra produce brand of fairly popular ... to be pretty dangerous ... and I and then the state media's be going off going after pretty strongly so ... you know you have a lot of people no one the one hand they don't trust domestic media ... arts or domestic ... milk powder ... no no and now the formal part of that they knew something was safe house in the not so says a lot of people were very frustrated ... and confused upset they don't know where to go ... Josh I suppose this frustration is understandable but it isn't that true that ... point of voluntarily apologize for this and point of the problem do you see a lot of local producers in China doing that ... I knew action is a really good pointed there's a flu strain of commentary ... on we bought ... right now did did you know were looking for freezing Fonterra ... has as a foreign company ... for coming out and being very open with this and they essentially came and said we have this problem where issuing a recall to seal flew to China ... apologize in a press conference yesterday ... so ... you know and and a lot of wave or users of social media isn't one of the contrast that with Chinese ... domestic producers outside move which ... it was the brand that was at the center of the melamine scandal two thousandeight ... was was the exact opposite was hiding in refuse to talk to the media didn't I'd ... things down to the area and ... so you know the people that say no they did in prison for four ... funds effort for doing so the airing of dirty laundry ... time and even had one little user saying she was glad she'd chosen ... the Fonterra brand ... of because ... they have the cousin was an honest company ... right ... well with bowler's social media in general seems to be a lightning rod for a lot of discussions in China ... said he was a sense of calm ... the issue of foreign companies generally ... is seen on Nuevo and you know some more specifically ... how she sure foreign companies look away bowed to ... a show or did someone to stand with the branding should be like ... read read noted there's no question that in China like like anyone else ... that ... you know ... social media is a battleground for brands for company is ... and you know what to do in China ... bulimia had a string of soft social above state media tax ... on foreign companies for them for various practices ... here ... Mueller Goebel wheel last week we had seen Why the official news agency going after ... foreign carmakers for charging too much for cars here ... Apple is coming under attack ... this year for its warranty policies ... um ... and you know him ... so you talk to sort of ... public relations people here ... in China and they say no we boy is it is actually it's fairly fertile ground for brands to defend themselves because ... social media users Here are used to being skeptical ... of what state media tells them ... and so so if they don't necessarily buy it ... Aon billion up without question ... consume Unum departed BP's in a wood medium to what is on the list to put in there on the cost advising companies to get on with more ... quickly to so to deal with with the sorts of crisis ... but was faced with the sins of the offering one